FALLING asleep at the wheel could kill you that is the frank message of a road safety drive being backed by Swindon Council.

The authority is helping to publicise the Think Campaign being run by the Government's Department of Environment, Transport and Regions.

Evidence shows that dozing off while driving could be a factor in a tenth of all road accidents and up to 20 per cent on motorways.

Margaret Tester, of the Swindon Borough Council Road Safety Unit, said: "Drivers don't just go to sleep suddenly, there is plenty of warning. That is why people open the car window and turn up the radio to try to keep themselves awake.

"Research shows that the risk of sleep related accidents is greater in the hours between midnight and 6am."

The campaign hopes to dispel the myths that opening the window, turning on the radio or turning the car heating down will keep drivers awake.

A TV advertising campaign to spread the message kicks off on Tuesday.

In another initiative, financial services provider Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) has joined forces with road safety charity Brake, to support the Saving Our Generation award scheme.

The scheme asks young people aged between 15 and 23 to focus on road safety and devise their own solutions to a problem that claims the lives of thousands of young drivers and their passengers each year.

In Wiltshire last year 11 per cent of deaths on the roads were young drivers and 42 per cent of fatal road crashes involved young drivers.

The award scheme aims to prevent death and injury by encouraging young people to think about curbing bad habits in a safety campaign, with a chance to win £1000 worth of road safety training and a £500 holiday voucher.